Former England seamer Steven Finn has urged the Indian team’s management and selectors to hand teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his senior India cap in their upcoming European tour of 3 white-ball series’ in Ireland and England.
India will play 2 T20Is in Ireland as a precursor to the series in England. The reigning World T20 Champions will take part in a full-fledged white-ball series, featuring 5 T20s and 3 ODIs as part of their preparation for next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The Indians will return to action for the first time this summer against Afghanistan who will tour for an one-off Test and 3 one-day matches taking place later this month. Elsewhere, the Indian A team will participate in a tri-series against Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A and we could see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi playing there.
The squads for India’s European tour is not finalized yet but England’s former pacer Steve Finn wants to see the 15-year-old don the jersey for the UK summer season. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi amassed 776 runs at a mind blowing strike rate of 236, leading the Rajasthan Royals all the way to the playoffs.
‘Headache’ for Indian selectors
While speaking on the “For the love of cricket” YouTube channel recently, Steven Finn urged the senior personalities of Indian cricket to fast-track the young prodigy into the national side. Finn expressed his strong desire to see Sooryavanshi replicate his IPL form at the international stage.
Finn also acknowledged the selection committee’s headache of having to subsequently drop a player from the 2026 T20 World Cup winning team for Sooryavanshi’s inclusion.
The top-order is already heavy with the presences of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan among others. The only player that could be left out is, in fact, Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav after his horrendous IPL 2026 run which saw him score just 230 runs in 13 outings for the Mumbai Indians who finished 9th.
given that the reigning T20 World Champions already boast of an incredibly formidable top order. However, he emphasized that Sooryavanshi would make the team better, regardless of whom he replaces.
“I would love to see him in an Indian shirt in the UK summer. The problem is India is the world champions, and it’ll be an incredibly tough call on those opening the batting now. Yet, whoever he replaces, he would make the team better. Whoever he replaces, he would make the team better.” – Steven Finn said.
Yorker remains Sooryavanshi’s only weakness
Steven Finn also underlined the only weakness of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – the yorker. Yet, he also argued that it is not easy for bowlers to hit it right with the new ball in hand. Given the 15-year-old’s bat swing and temperament to start off with a bang, it has proved tough even for people like Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc.
Though, the international stage is a different ball game altogether, who knows if throwing Sooryavanshi deep into the pit might result in something historic. Steven Finn agrees that he was the story of IPL 2026 for being able to sustain his form throughout the whole season.
“The question entering this season was if he could do it again and be consistent. The most staggering thing is that he struck at 236 across 700-plus runs against the best bowlers in the world. To sustain that for a full season as a 15-year-old is mind-blowing. He was the story of this IPL. And people say the yorker is his lone weakness. But that’s so tough to execute with the new ball that if that’s your only weakness, you would almost take that.” – Steven Finn concluded.
